How to make fermented tea (not kombucha)

Last Updated on May 2, 2023 by Aaron von Frank

In this article, you’ll find out how to make a simple, homemade “wild” fermented tea from scratch that offers caffeine, delicious flavor, probiotic benefits, and tongue-tingling effervescence!

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Table of contents: 

Use the links below to jump to the section you’re interested in or drink up all the interesting information in the whole article!

I. Two caffeine-producing plants tested/used: Tea Camellia and Yaupon holly
II. What is wild fermentation?
III. Recipe creation, methodology, and taste test results
IV. How much caffeine is in this wild fermented tea?
V. Jump to top fermented tea recipes

Tea offers numerous health benefits. However, you should avoid consuming too much caffeine each day and also avoid consuming caffeine within 6 hours before bedtime. Otherwise, you’ll sacrifice sleep quality, which then has negative health consequences. Doh!   

There are also numerous health benefits from consuming fermented foods and drinks. It just so happens we love tea and we love fermented foods and beverages. Thus, we set out to create our own delicious homegrown, homemade fermented tea that could give us our morning caffeine boost while also serving as a probiotic. After numerous kitchen experiments and taste tests, we’re excited to share the results with you so you can make your own fermented tea from store-bought or homegrown ingredients.   

First, some important context: 

Part I. Two species of caffeine-producing plants used

We’ve previously profiled two caffeine-producing plants we grow here in Ag Zone 7b: 

1. non-native Tea Camellia (Camellia sinensis), and
2. native Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) – don’t let that botanical name scare you! 

1. Tea Camellia

Many people don’t realize that matcha, black tea, green tea, white tea, yellow tea, and oolong tea are all made from the leaves of the same plant, Tea Camellia. What makes each type of tea different? When the leaves are harvested, and how they’re processed after harvest. 

Technically, to be considered a “true tea,” a beverage must be made from the leaves of Camellia sinensis. Beverages made from ingredients other than Tea Camellia are lumped into the herbal tea category, even if they contain caffeine (example: Yerba mate).   

2. Yaupon holly

We’ve been singing the praises of Yaupon holly tea for years. It’s the only caffeinated plant native to the US and it makes a wonderfully flavorful tea, er “herbal tea.” In fact, we typically like Yaupon holly tea as much if not more than teas made from the leaves of Tea Camellia.   

When trialing fermented tea recipes for this article, we used both Tea Camellia and Yaupon holly. Our overall taste test winner? A fermented Yaupon holly tea, as we’ll detail below. 

Part II. What is “wild” fermentation? 

“Cultured” fermented products (specific types of beer, wine, cheese, etc) are made using specific introduced strains of fungi and bacteria. By using the same ingredients, microbial strains, and process, you get a fairly uniform product.

Examples of cultured fermentations: Yeast strains labeled D-254, D-80, and L-2056 are often used to make Syrah wines. Starter bacterial cultures of Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus are typically used to make parmesan-style cheese. 

“Wild” fermentations utilize whatever native fungi/yeasts and bacteria happen to be present on the ingredients and/or in the air but they can still yield surprisingly uniform results. To the uninitiated, it can be a little disconcerting to find out that air, water, food, soil, and even our own bodies are teeming with microbes — and that we unknowingly depend on microbes for our health and survival.

Likewise, it can also be a little disconcerting making your first wild fermentation since you’re essentially trusting something you’ve been taught to be terrified of (microbes) to produce something you’re going to intentionally eat or drink. A more accurate and informed fear response might have you recoiling from a hyper-sterilized bottle of soda or fast food meal loaded with phthalates and other horrors while being perfectly comfortable consuming living fermented foods, but I digress… 

When making wild fermentations, you’re promoting the proliferation of beneficial/desirable strains of microbes you want present by manipulating factors such as:

• pH levels,
• oxygen levels,
• salinity, and
• temperature.

The proliferating beneficial microbes and inhospitable environment of the growth medium then make it impossible for pathogenic microbes to take up residence. Thus, the health risks of consuming properly made, wild fermented products is virtually non-existent, but the proven health benefits are innumerable.   

An example of a popular wild fermented food is homemade living sauerkraut (not the sterilized store-bought stuff). Related: See our beginner’s guide to making sauerkraut.

The fermented teas you can make using the recipes in this article are also an example of wild fermentation. In this case, the microbes you’ll be harnessing are native yeasts (technically fungi) and native lactic acid bacteria (aka LAB). 

This fermented tea is technically an alcoholic fermentation, not a lacto-fermentation. However, the alcohol level of the finished fermented tea is very low, likely in the 1-2% ABV range.      

How is this wild fermented tea different from kombucha? 

We also enjoy homemade kombucha, especially our seasonal elderflower kombucha. Kombucha is technically another type of fermented tea, but it’s much different than the fermented teas made in this article. 

Kombucha is typically made from black tea (Camellia sinensis) but can be trained to different tea mixes such as 50-50 green and black tea. While the wild fermented teas in this article can also be made using Camellia sinensis leaves, there are important differences between the two fermentation methods: 

• Kombucha is a cultured ferment that uses an introduced “mother” SCOBY to undertake the fermentation process. (“SCOBY” means Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast.) Our wild fermented tea utilizes wild microbes (yeasts and lactic acid bacteria (LAB)) to undertake the fermentation. These microbes are present on the tea leaves, in the honey, and (in the case of yeast) floating around you.  
• You only use the finished liquid tea (not the leaves) to make kombucha. You’ll use the leaves to make this wild fermented tea. 
• Kombucha uses cane sugar (sucrose) to feed the microbes. This wild fermented tea uses honey (fructose and glucose). 
• You don’t have to stir kombucha as it ferments. However, you’ll need to vigorously stir this wild fermented tea at least twice per day for 30-60 seconds in order to oxygenate it until it’s finished after about 2 weeks.  
• Kombucha is sour and highly acidic; this wild fermented tea is neither sour nor highly acidic. 
• This wild fermented tea is naturally bubbly/effervescent, whereas kombucha is not (although you can make a bubbly kombucha). 

Part III. Recipe creation, methodology, and taste test results

We wanted to test the difference between the following ingredients and preparation methods:

1. fermented Camellia sinensis vs Yaupon holly;
2. hot steeped leaves prior to fermentation vs cold water only;
3. dried pulverized leaves vs fresh chopped leaves;
4. effects of additional ingredients on flavor, color, fermentation time, and other factors. 

Each tea was:

• made from organically grown leaves collected in late winter in Agricultural Zone 7b (Greenville, South Carolina);
• *sweetened with equivalent amounts of honey, which was added when the teas were at room temperature; 
• made in glass jars to prevent plastic or metal leaching;
• covered with a breathable paper towel to allow off-gassing while reducing the likelihood of contamination;
• maintained out of sunlight at 72°F (22°C);
• vigorously stirred at least every 12 hours for the purpose of oxygenation. 

(*Note: We used honey since: a) we have it on hand from our own hive, b) we consider honey to be a healthier alternative to cane sugar, and c) it’s been shown to have prebiotic properties that promote gastrointestinal health. However, other sweeteners could be used to make fermented tea, but such sweeteners may lead to a different optimal fermentation time and/or different flavor outcomes. During fermentation, a significant percentage of whatever type of sugar used is broken down by microbes which then release CO2, thus creating bubbles.)   

Our five fermented tea test finalists were made as follows: 

Version 1: Hot water steeped dry tea leaf powder, fermented with honey for 15 days

• 2 cups hot water (just below boiling)
• 18.6 gm dried tea leaf powder (about 1/3 cup pulverized leaves)
• 1/2 cup honey (added after tea steeps when water cooled)
• 1 tbsp fresh Meyer lemon juice (added after tea steeps when water cooled)

Version 2: Unheated/cool water with dry tea leaf powder, fermented with honey for 15 days

• 2 cups cool water
• 18.6 gm dried tea leaf powder (about 1/3 cup pulverized leaves)
• 1/2 cup honey 
• 1 tbsp fresh Meyer lemon juice 

Version 3: Hot water steeped chopped FRESH tea leaves, fermented with honey for 15 days

• 2 cups hot water (just below boiling)
• *26.5 gm minced, fresh tea leaves (*higher weight than dry leaf powder versions based on equivalent quantity of fresh leaves vs dried leaves)
• 1/2 cup honey (added after tea steeps when water cooled)
• 1 tbsp fresh Meyer lemon juice (added after tea steeps when water cooled)

Version 4 (flavored): Hot water steeped dry tea leaf powder + hibiscus calyxes/roselle, fermented with honey for 15 days

• 2 cups hot water (just below boiling)
• 18.6 gm dried tea leaf powder (about 1/3 cup pulverized leaves)
• 1/2 cup honey (added after tea steeps when water cooled)
• 3 grams dried *hibiscus roselle calyxes (added after tea steeps when water cooled)
• 1 tbsp fresh Meyer lemon juice (added after tea steeps when water cooled)

*See: How to grow and use edible hibiscus, Hibiscus sabdariffa

Version 5 (Yaupon holly): Hot water steeped FRESH minced/finely chopped Yaupon holly leaves, fermented with honey for 15 days

• 2 cups hot water (just below boiling)
• 26.5 gm minced, fresh Yaupon holly leaves
• 1/2 cup honey (added after tea steeps when water cooled)
• 1 tbsp fresh Meyer lemon juice (added after tea steeps when water cooled)

Observations and notes:

1. It took about 5 days for signs of active fermentation to appear (small CO2 bubbles rising and grouping on the surface) in the Tea Camellia ferments and about 7 days in the Yaupon holly ferment. However, the Yaupon tea was more microbially active at completion (Day 15). Perhaps this indicates Yaupon holly leaves’ more potent initial antimicrobial properties.

2. At Day 11, Tea #1 and Tea #2 had their leaves strained out due to the development of vegetal, off-flavors, but both teas were allowed to continue to ferment until Day 15. The other teas never developed off flavors, perhaps due to use of fresh leaves (Tea #3 and Tea #5) and/or additional high-acid ingredients (dried hibiscus roselles in Tea #4). Perhaps this indicates that fresh leaves produce a better flavor than dried leaves in fermented teas unless overall acidity levels are increased or other high acid ingredients like hibiscus roselles are added.  

3. Tea #4 (with hibiscus added) was our taste test winner from the Tea Camellia versions, although Tea #3 was a close contender. Tea #5 (Yaupon holly) was our overall taste test winner. The Yaupon fermented tea offered very interesting, rich and nuanced flavor notes that we all found delicious. Thus, Tea #4 and Tea #5 are the recipes included in the recipe cards at the bottom of this article.    

Part IV. How much caffeine is in this wild fermented tea?

The only way to conclusive determine how much caffeine is in each serving of fermented tea would be through a food chemistry lab, which we don’t have. 

That’s because caffeine levels in the same plant species can vary by individual plant, soil type, time of year, age of leaves, post-harvest processing, steeping time prior to consumption, and other factors. Also, the antioxidant catechin in Tea Camellia leaves binds with caffeine molecules so as to make it less immediately digestible, essentially creating a slower-release drug relative to other caffeinated drinks like coffee.

Ok, that’s all very interesting, but can’t we at least take a guess at a potential per serving caffeine range in this fermented tea? We’ll try.

We’ll use black tea as a benchmark…

Tea industry standard for measuring loose leaf tea is about 2.5 grams of dried tea per 6-8 ounces / 1 cup of water. There is about 47 mg caffeine in one 2.5 gm serving of black tea, so 18.8 mg caffeine per 1 gm of dried tea.  

In our fermented tea recipes below, the dry tea leaf weight per jar is 18.6 gm. (If using fresh leaves, use 26.5 gm to account for water content of leaves.) Assuming the 15-day fermentation process extracts a proximate amount of caffeine from the leaves as making standard black tea, that means 2 cups of fermented tea contains about 350mg of caffeine.    

Yaupon holly contains comparable caffeine levels to Camellia sinensis, so we’ll assume similar caffeine levels for this fermented tea as well. 

Key takeaways:

• Cup per cup, our fermented tea recipes could contain about 3x more caffeine than standard steeped black tea and 2x more caffeine than coffee.
• These fermented teas are also much more flavorful beverages than standard steeped tea and are fairly sweet due to the honey.
• If you’re concerned about consuming too much caffeine, drink smaller portions or water down each serving.           

Part V. Fermented tea recipes

Ok, now it’s time to tell you exactly how to make our two favorite fermented tea recipes from the contenders mentioned earlier: Recipe #1 made using Tea Camellia leaves and Recipe #2 using Yaupon holly leaves! Again, our personal favorite was the Yaupon holly, but both recipes are excellent. 

And even if you don’t have fresh leaves to harvest, you can use dried, store-bought leaves. 

 

We hope you enjoy these healthy and delicious fermented tea recipes! 

KIGI,

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